Native Heritage Sites

Trailside Museum’s Native American Site Steward Program

Many Native American sites have been identified throughout Harriman, Bear Mountain, and Sterling Forest State Parks. Additional possible sites continue to be found. Since 1999, Thendara members have participated in the Native American Site Steward Program (NASSP) under Trailside Museums & Zoo.

Site Stewards are a corps of concerned volunteers that regularly patrol and monitor Native American rock shelters. Looting, vandalism and other illegal activities have compromised the integrity of these valuable cultural resources. Site Stewards help protect these locations and the associated artifacts that represent more than 10,000 years of indigenous life in Southern New York State. They volunteer to monitor sites for looting and other illegal activities by hiking to their site(s) at least twice a year.